Reading, Drinking, Reading, Napping…Reading

Guilty as Cinnamon by Leslie Budewitz

This is book 2 in the Spice Shop Mystery Series by Leslie Budewitz. I love the theme of a spice shop. I use a lot of spices and herbs in my own cooking and enjoy reading about them. In this book, a customer of the spice shop is killed with one of the shop’s products. Pepper’s ex-boyfriend is implicated and calls her for help, which is how she begins looking into the crime. This one includes hidden identities, abused spouses, corruption in the restaurant business, murder and maybe even ghosts to keep the story feeling fresh and exciting. Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The Seattle location is well done and feels realistic. I visited Pike Place Market years ago and remember it vividly as having a vibrant “foodie” atmosphere. This comes to life on the pages of the book. Well written cozy with great atmosphere and theme!